Arkansas Houses passes bill on concealed guns on college campuses

Faculty and staff members in Arkansas would be allowed to carry concealed handguns on the state’s college campuses under a measure approved on Friday by state representatives that also has the backing of Governor Mike Beebe.

The Arkansas state House voted 70 to 11 to allow colleges and universities to decide themselves whether to allow concealed weapons on their campuses, advancing the bill to the state Senate, which is expected to approve the bill.

Discussion of gun control and gun rights has dominated public debate in the United States since a gunman shot dead 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school in December, 20 of them first graders.

The advancement of the bill comes just days after Beebe signed into law a measure that allows concealed-carry permit holders to take weapons into houses of worship if the individual churches approve of the practice.